Friedrich combined landscape motifs with religious symbolism, and this picture represents the hope for salvation through the Christian faith. In the foreground a crippled man has abandoned his crutches and sits against a rock with his hands raised in prayer before a crucifix. The rocks and evergreen trees may be interpreted as symbols of faith, and the visionary Gothic cathedral emerging from the mist evokes the promise of life after death.

There is a second version of this picture in the Museum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Dortmund.